How Google+ Can Change Your Life

Google+ is an outstanding social network that can change your lifestyle dramatically. I would compare social networks, be it Google+, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Kaboodle, Pinterest, eHow or any other to huge virtual cities. To get around a social network is like getting around a big city. To live happily and in a thrilling way though, you need to know some main principles and you need to understand how this big system called "social network" functions. The best way of getting around an unknown city is following a guide or a map left by a person who has already walked some paths there. I've been using Google+ for a while now, so let me introduce you to my experience and guide you in.

To live life in a social network is like playing a game, and a game always has some rules. In a game, it is important to understand that the way you develop your player's strategy determines a lot whether you are going to win or lose, or how much you can win or lose. And it is actually very easy to lose or to get into a trap, or to come to a dead end if you take a wrong direction or make wrong actions. When it comes to the "win" part, it depends on how smart a player you are and how well you follow the right direction.

My profile on Google+ : posts page | Source

Learning New Things Thanks to Google+

If you are curious enough, Google+ is a fun way to learn new things about life and people. As soon as you create a Google+ account, you can opt for tons of interesting subscriptions, like photography, art, culture, travel and many others. You will then see in your feed different news from pages you subscribe to: these can be colourful photos, quotes, interesting stories, videos. And you can actually choose what to read: you can read all, which means that the network itself offers you all kinds of information from different sources on Google+, you can choose to read from your friends' feed, or from your friends' friends' feed, or from your family feed, or from your circle feed, or from your subscriptions feed. And you actually create all these different kinds of feed by yourself just by adding people and pages to your circles.

My Google+ feed: Home page. You can go to Home page by clicking on the corresponding icon in the left column.

A "share" line and a post from my Google+ feed

Google+ is About Sharing

One of the most important things I have learned is that Google+ is about sharing. I mean, you can of course meet new people, learn things, search for people, self-promote and do a lot more but the main idea is sharing. That is why you have the share button that allows you to upload videos, photos, write stories, share links or you can simply share anybody else's post or any web content you like with your circles.

When you visit somebody's profile you may see "Add to circles" button, and you can see more people whom you can add to your circles below

Do you use Google+?

Google+ Is About Adding

It is not by chance that Google+ is called this way. The first thing you notice about Google+ network is the plus sign. It's because when you are in Google+ and like some content on the web, you can put a plus under it, and it will show in your +1s profile section as well as in your Google+ feed. It's like a "like" button on Facebook. But there is another meaning to this plus, too.

Mathematically, the plus sign means adding. And Google+ is about adding, indeed. So, if you see an "add" button here and there, it's because you are in Google+!

People will add you to their circles, you can add them back. They will share different information with you - it's up to you to choose whether to keep in touch or not. If you have something inspiring to share - fine! People are aways curious to learn something new. And if I was to choose whether to add new people to my circles or not, I'd rather do.

13 people +'d this post that comes from Hubpages and there are comments, also! | Source

What Else You Can Do On Google+

Google+ offers a lot of opportunities and ways in which you can develop yourself, virtually. You can chat, call your friends, video chat, attend or organize a hangout, create a community, your own page or an event. You can promote yourself as a blogger, for example using a google+ button, or sharing a link to your blog post. I'm personally thankful to Google+ because it has helped me promote some of my Hubpages articles and some of my blog posts. I have an option allowing me to send emails to my circles every time I post something new, so they can better track my activity on the web. The thing is, they may not have the habit yet to read the feed, but they do check their email regularly.

As far as other Google+ activities are concerned, you can make new friends from around the world, as people you add to your circles may become your friends. Then you can be invited and travel abroad... Or invite somebody to your country.

Also, you can create your own photo albums.

One of my photo albums on Google+ | Source

Some Fascinating Experiences I Had on Google+

One of the coolest things I have experienced on Google+ is being invited to a hangout by a team of astrologers called "CosmoQuest" who actually organize these hangouts every week. A hangout is like a video chat with several people at once. When a meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk and fell, they dedicated a whole 50-minute discussion to it. I could not attend the hangout because of the time difference - that would be like in the middle of the night for me. But I did find the recording of it on YouTube. And I'm actually very grateful that these guys have come my way.

Email invitation to a hangout from CosmoQuest

Another cool experience is adding Paris Hilton to my circle. So now I can read from her news feed and she can read from mine if she chooses to. This means I got an opportunity to get closer to a celebrity. Isn't it inspiring?

Paris Hilton in my circle!

One more great thing about Google+ was creating my own page called Events Store. I have dedicated this page to all kinds of events that happen in our lives: birth, going to school, marriage, holidays...

Be My Valentine! - Photo album from Events Store, Gift Ideas | Source

So, you see, Google+ is a great place to be in, be it just for fun, learning, making friends or business purpose. Whether you use it or do not use it yet, I hope this article has helped you inform yourself about it.

You really put it in perspective for me when you said Google+" ...is like getting around a big city." Seeing it like this helps me understand that it will take a little time to learn my way around, but once I understand how to read the G+ map, I will be OK. Your hub is a great roadmap. Your photos add a wonderful visual guide, as well.

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)

Google AdSense Host API

This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Facebook Login

You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Maven

This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)

We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.

Conversion Tracking Pixels

We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.

Statistics

Author Google Analytics

This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)

Comscore

ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)

Amazon Tracking Pixel

Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)